Diana Gabaldon opens up about rape scene from Outlander season one

THE author of the hit Outlander series discussed the dramatic season finale and said "20 years ago nobody could have done something like that on the screen”.

Share

Get weekly news by email

Twitter

Jamie in the harrowing season finale

DIANA Gabaldon insists the show's rape scene at the end of season one would never have been made 20 years ago.

In the final episode of Outlander ’s debut season, Sam Heughan’s character, Jamie Fraser, is sexually assaulted by Black Jack Randall, who is played by Tobias Menzies.

And the author admitted the scene is "in no way gratuitous" but believes television has matured to handle "emotionally complex and very emotionally honest kinds of material".

Diana told RadioTimes : "It’s just a very long very complex book. It’s a very honest one and frankly, 20 years ago nobody could have done something like that on the screen so in a way it’s the result of television having matured to the point where it can take on these very emotionally complex and very emotionally honest kinds of material."

She added: "They filmed those scenes pretty much straight out of the book – the scenes in the prison and so forth – and in the book it builds, this conflict which is actually a triangle you might say amongst Claire, Jamie and Black Jack Randlall and you see it developing, the dimensions and aspects, through the entire story."

Diana also praised the work of executive producer Ron D. Moore and actors Sam Heughan and Tobias Menzies, who play Jamie Fraser and Black Jack in the series.

He said the scene would allow viewers to understand what Jamie had gone through which would be important for the next season.

Sam told TheWrap: "We were very aware of what we were doing. We spent a lot of time rehearsing it, discussing what we want the audience to see and to feel. The writers and directors were heavily involved. And I know [showunner] Ron [Moore], in the edit, he’s got a great sense of taste and didn’t want to show more than he was comfortable with watching.

"And certainly we were the same. We didn’t want to do something that was graphic or hard to watch. It was about understanding what Jamie’s gone through so we know where he is the rest of the season and subsequent seasons.

"Ultimately that episode, for us, was not just about being raped. It was about the torture beforehand, it was about this mental chess game that they’re playing, and then obviously this horrific thing that happens to Jamie, but also afterwards — Jamie, not broken. His body maybe, but his mind isn’t."